Thanks to an Italian spaghetti Western aficionado, the California scene is saddling up for the next generation
Photography by MARK GRIFFIN CHAMPION
Words by AMELIA FLEETWOOD
City folk dressed in off-duty denim and plaid, mostly in their 20s and 30s, step out of their Teslas in a pasture parking lot. Their EVs line up against trailers and rodeo horses munch hay as the sun pours through the pepper trees, lighting up the 400-acre AB Ranch. Built in the early 1900s and situated just outside Santa Paula, it forms the picturesque backdrop for fashion entrepreneur Stefan Siegel’s latest venture, IRON/Rodeo: a day of barrel racing, roping exhibitions, live country music, art, vintage clothes, and home-style cooking that will be attended by 500 people, including DJ Diplo and Gigi and Bella Hadid.
“IRON/Rodeo is part of a mission to preserve Western culture and the craftsmanship that belongs to it, as well as just getting these Gen Z kids — and kids in general — out. People are so attracted to the lure of the American West, the iconic cowboy, the dreams of open space. Adventures still exist in people’s minds. People are seeking more of a connection to nature and moving away from the disconnect of modern life,” Siegel says.
Siegel, a rugged Italian in his 40s, might seem an unlikely rodeo and 10-gallon hat aficionado, but like Sergio Leone, the Italian director of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, the lure of the American West has lassoed him — hard. He grew up in a small town in the Italian Alps famous for its horses. His childhood was spent in the saddle, shaped by the European versions of cowboy-and-Indian TV series and spaghetti Westerns. “Watching them really impacted me,” he says. “When I finally moved to L.A. in 2017, I immediately began riding Western as a nod to my childhood dreams, then started competing at local rodeos and ranch sorting and cuttings.”
An invitation to Circle Bar Ranch, Texas, was a turning point. An inspiration for the hit TV show Yellowstone, it also sparked his imagination for a more inclusive rodeo. As Siegel delved further into the culture, he attended more than 100 rodeos in rural Texas while traveling in his Airstream during the pandemic. He met saddlemakers, leather workers, silversmiths, and boot makers. “I saw the parallels to the fashion designers,” he says.
IRON/Rodeo is part of a mission to preserve Western culture and the craftsmanship that belongs to it.
STEFAN SIEGEL
AB Ranch acts as the perfect backdrop for IRON/Rodeo, the latest venture from fashion entrepreneur Stefan Siegel, pictured in the cowboy hat at bottom right. Second row, far right: The ladies of Only Tans leather company take in the early morning sun before the guests arrive.
Finally the idea for IRON/Rodeo crystallized: a live event of rodeo and artisanal crafts that would indulge his newfound passion and celebrate the American Western traditions for a broader audience. A “My First Rodeo” for city folk, if you will.
With LeAnn Rimes in the audience, her version of “The Star-Spangled Banner” rings out and the arena springs to life. Glittering cowgirl drill teams lope around in perfectly synchronized patterns, followed by Latino trick ropers, liberty acts, and barrel races that enrapture the mostly non-horsey crowd. “I focused on including the less dangerous events, so no bull riding or bucking broncos here,” Siegel says, smiling, as a cowboy ropes a cow as he would on a real ranch. As the master of ceremonies explains the specifics of what is on show, punters eat chili served up by local restaurant and resort Cuyama Buckhorn.
Outside the arena, vendors sell cowboy hats, boots, and an array of vintage clothing. A nearby rustic barn acts as a gallery where, in one stall, photographer Lauren Purves hangs her photographs of horses and cowboys. In another, the Object Hotel’s Grocery Gallery showcases painter Jeff Bohm’s colorful and raw paintings of simpler times. A barber shop and a tattoo parlor confirm you are definitely not in Kansas anymore.
“It’s not a real rodeo,” says model and entrepreneur Kassidi Batt, “but it can be a new way to do rodeo. By the end of the day, people were out in the arena taking turns with the kids riding the horses. It’s so much more interactive. And I loved how IRON/Rodeo focused on females taking the lead.” Laura at Velasco Silversmithing, who sells jewelry including talisman silver rings and boleros, agrees: “We all love what Stefan is doing, bringing Western culture and art to the forefront — I’ve sold more in four hours than I have over the past four months.”
Siegel’s own brand, Not Just a Label, is an e-commerce platform for emerging fashion designers from all over the world. He wants to re-create the model for American artisans and makers as a means of cultural preservation. “Here in America we have so many artists without a physical or digital outlet to share their craftsmanship in a profitable way,” he says. “I want to offer this outlet so that we don’t run the risk of many of these skills not being passed down to the next generation and disappearing for good.”
His pet peeve is seeing rodeo kids carrying the American flag in clothes made overseas. His dream is to feature only made-in-America products, bringing manufacturing back to home soil. He expands, “If you finance the careers of local makers, they will spend the money within a 100-mile radius. That’s what we have seen with Not Just a Label. You can change entire districts economically for the better.”
People are so attracted to the lure of the American West, the iconic cowboy, the dreams of open space.
STEFAN SIEGEL
Yellowstone costume designer Johnetta Boone, who also attended, explains the enduring appeal of the cowboy aesthetic. “Everyone either wants to be a cowboy or fall in love with one; that’s what’s at the root of the allure. The style is a nod to being rebellious and tough. It’s a boldly American statement. But I would say the majority of the guests had never been on a horse.”
As the sun fades, the last few stragglers make their way back to their cars. Siegel sighs. “It was all a dream,” he says. “It almost felt like a movie set.” As he waxes romantic, a mother in pink cowboy boots asks her two kids, “Isn’t this better than being at home playing Fortnite?”
JAMIE DORNAN wears BRUNELLO CUCINELLI jacket, sweater, and pants.
Feature image: “Everyone either wants to be a cowboy or fall in love with one; that’s what’s at the root of the allure,” says a rodeo attendee.
This story originally appeared in the Spring Men’s Edition 2024 issue of C Magazine.
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